A Family Matter
by JustBFree
Summary: Magneto finds what he's been looking for and has to fight to keep it


In the near arctic chill of the Canadian mountains, a lone figure could be spotted in the snow. The cold didn't seem to bother the man, he was too determined to let the weather interfere with this very important, and even more personal mission. At the base of one of the grand stone monoliths were the remains of a military research base. He marched towards the small building with a purpose. The building was only a little larger than a one story house, or it would have been, if not for the missing side wall and half of the roof. This place had been occupied and busy some time ago, but now all that was left was the hollowed, snow covered remnants. He let himself in and began to look through the rubble for clues. He had a reason for being here, of course, and a very good one. His name was Eric Lehnsherr, and he sighed in despair. How could this have happened? The humans, they were just so...cruel. The things they did to each other in the past-slavery, the Holocaust-nearly paled in comparison to the things they had done to the mutants. He let his eyes roam the icy laboratory. Most of it had fallen into disrepair, the large computer screens shattered, the experimenting machines collapsed, holding cell doors ripped off the hinges. It was a sorry sight. He spotted a file cabinet across the room. With a small amount of concentration, he lifted the cabinet and pulled out its drawers. All of the drawers were empty except for the last one. He let the empty cabinet and the other drawers fall to the ground, and brought the occupied drawer to him. He removed a thick portfolio and looked through it. "Oh my God." He whispered. He lost his concentration on holding up the drawer, and it banged to the floor. He barely heard it as he turned to leave the ruins of the lab.   
  
Erik Lehnsherr settled into his seat as the newest addition to the Brotherhood piloted the helicopter away from the abandoned lab. Once known simply as John Allerdyce, Pyro was now a trusted member of the small group. After leaving the X-men during the incident at Alkali Lake, Pyro became a sort of surrogate son to Magneto, part of a real family...for once in his life. He looked like a normal person of his age. A leanly muscular build, with slightly shaggy brown hair and dark hazel eyes. He was nearly an adult, only a few months short, but he was deadly. He had been alone since his parents found out about his mutation, his ability to control fire, and they had forced him out of their homes and their lives. Magneto was happy to give the young Pyro that sort of security, he knew how important family was. He sighed at the thought of his own child, who was so much like him that sometimes he felt as if he were looking at a younger version of himself. He sighed again, he was tired of searching with nothing to show for it. He was a tired man, and longed for the day when the mutants could be free to live their lives without fear. He had tried to make that day come twice-and failed- but he would not stop fighting for what he felt was right. "Something on your mind?" Pyro asked from the driver's seat of the chopper. Magneto looked over to him, "Oh, no, just head back home, won't you?" he asked. Without a word, Pyro nodded. He understood Magneto, in a way. He knew that Magneto's family was taken from him when he was a child in Auschwitz, and that now he was searching for something. Who knew what, but Pyro knew that Magneto wouldn't give up, for his determination was as powerful as his mutant abilities.   
  
After hours of flying, Pyro settled the helicopter on the small landing strip outside of their new home. It was certainly no shack, nor was it an overly clichéd cave or hollowed out volcano as Pyro had imagined would be the ideal place for villains like Magneto and Mystique. It was a spacious house in the East Hamptons of New York. Apparently Magneto had received more than a few very large paychecks back in the day, and could easily afford the finer things in life. The house had three floors, each containing spacious bedrooms and bathrooms, with perfect views of the lovely ocean at the back of the house. The house itself was made of red brick, and it looked as if it was quickly being enveloped in the emerald ivy that grew on one side and appeared to want to claim the other. A lush green yard in the front with lilies bordering the walkway up to the front door gave the house some sense of normalcy (it was far away from the other estates, with plenty of cover, so that if Mystique wanted to wander about in her natural body, no one would be able to see). The house was a charade, of course, Charles Xavier was not the only man who had secrets beneath his home. Underneath there was a large computer consul, a small medical area, and a place where their meetings were held. Magneto handed the files over to his right hand woman, who met them outside. He could handle himself on a computer, but she was a genius when it came to hacking into government files, which is what he needed right now. He headed up to his room while she went downstairs to their superior computer system. This left Pyro alone for awhile, and he chose to stay on the middle floor and relax, all in a day's work.   
  
Mystique looked over the files Magneto had found. Her amber eyes darted over the words and codes that she entered into the computer. Magneto himself was in his quarters, no doubt contemplating what he had discovered at that lab. After a long shower he had dressed for the evening, yet still remained in his room. He knew that Mystique would let him know if she found anything important...if not, she would say nothing, and he would keep searching. Pyro was lounging in the main room, relaxing and fully enjoying the freedom that came with not being in Xavier's school. He felt liberated, no more classes, no more curfews. He did what he desired, acted on every instinct and impulse. As far as he was concerned, that was the way it should be. As a "god among insects", he felt that he should no longer play by anyone's rules. The only people he answered to now were Magneto and Mystique, and they didn't really care where he went or what he did with whom, just as long as he returned to them safely. And he always did, as he felt like a part of their family. With Magneto playing the gruff but loving father and Mystique being the encouraging figure of a mother, life was unusual but comforting. Pyro heard a commotion come from the computer area where Mystique was trying to decode some of the old files that Magneto had found earlier that day. He jumped up and ran to the room, where Mystique was staring wide-eyed at the computer screen. He glanced at what it said: "Mutant #583: subject is prone to violent outbursts, while mutative abilities seem to be growing; it is possible that more drastic measures must be taken with her containment..." Pyro read on a bit more, but the farther down he read, the more it seemed to imply that the people who wrote the file-whoever they were- probably killed the mutant in question. He looked at Mystique, who seemed very upset.   
  
"Should I go get him?" he asked her. At first she didn't respond, but after a moment, her head jerked to him. "No, I should tell him," she laid her sapphire scaled hand on his shoulder. "Pyro, it would probably be best if you go to sleep now, understand?" He couldn't say that he liked her to say such a thing, the type of statement that parents always use on their children when they wanted to be alone. But he knew that the subject of mutant #583 must hold some serious weight with Magneto, so he obediently did as he was told.   
  
Quickly printing off all of the information, Mystique entered Magneto's bedroom. No need to knock, as well as she knew him. It was decorated nicely; wooden bookcases, an oak desk, warm burgundy blankets covering his large bed. On a bedside table he had pictures of his past; his parents, his sisters, some childhood friends; and one Mystique knew that he kept hidden in a drawer, of a woman with brown hair with a younger girl of perhaps 13 years old. He was sitting on the bed with his legs under the blankets and reading a novel when Mystique entered. Despite how intimate they were with each other, he still felt a small wave of natural awe sweep over him at the sight of someone so unusual. She wore no clothes when she was in her natural form, giving everyone in sight a full view of her lithe, sapphire blue body that was adorned with strategically placed scales and bony ridges across her chest and over her hips. Her amber eyes were always alert with reptilian caution, taking in every detail and noting every possibility for danger. Her hair was a dark crimson crop, as she rarely had time to fuss over things such as this month's latest hairstyle. She stood facing him, silent, and he urged her to say something with a simple expression. As if hearing his silent command, her echoing voice slithered past her lips and into his ears. "I found a complete file." His heart skipped a beat, his head swam, he felt dizzy. He hadn't been expecting her to actually find anything. After a few seconds of initial shock, he seemed to regain his composure. His eyes locked on what Mystique held in her hands. Magneto rose from his bed, the covers carelessly tossed to the side as he walked over and took the offered information from her. She stood motionless, watching him read the first page. She saw his face fall, his eyes mist. If she looked closer, she would probably have been able to see his heart break. He collapsed onto his bed, sitting on the soft mattress and simply staring into space. She went to him, wanting to give him any form of comfort, but he held up his arm, "No, no, leave me." She looked down at him and saw a broken man. His heart had been broken so many times, his soul had been corrupted and his mind had been shattered...she absently wondered how much more he could take before his strength finally gave out. She respected him, trusted him, even loved him and in the end...she would always answer to him. She turned and left him alone to decide what the next step would be.  
  
Erik Lehnsherr's dark blue eyes skimmed over the file that Mystique had presented to him earlier that night. So, this is what they had done to his child after she was taken from him. He usually kept the precious memories of his past in the far corners of his mind, but he now allowed them to resurface, and envelope his heart.   
  
'It was many years after he had arrived in America. He was working as a lawyer, when a beautiful woman entered his office. She needed help, her husband had beat her, and she wanted a divorce. She was tall, slender yet shapely, with stylish dark brown hair and dark brown doe eyes, and the kindest smile he had ever seen. He saw the large bruises left on her face and promised to help her in any way he could. He did, he won her a large settlement and she had asked him to join her for dinner after the final hearing. There was magic that night, and it didn't stop there. For the first time, he felt that he could trust this wonderful person who had come into his life. As he became more smitten with her; he began to court her with flowers and chocolate covered caramels, although she had said that she would have loved him even if he couldn't afford such luxuries for her. It was part of her charm, really, that she was so accepting of him. He didn't think that she would mind his being a mutant, but he could never be sure with anyone, so he decided to keep his secret under wraps. He loved her far too much to lose her over something that he could hide. He was thirty-five years old once they were married, and she became pregnant after years of complete marital bliss. Erik had often wondered if he was dreaming. Here he was; married to the woman of his dreams, living a peaceful, prosperous life and expecting a child in the fabled Land Of The Free. She was born in the fall. His daughter, his baby girl, his angel. They had named her Ruby. He had never known that it was possible to love someone so much. He loved his family more than he loved himself. The first time she held on to one of his fingers with her tiny hand; her first wobbly steps; the first time her azure eyes looked into his and she called him father. Granted, he did start his family a little late in life, but he couldn't have asked for more. Yet everything ends with hatred, he supposed, which is why his family was stolen from him, the only thing he cared about. Mutants were being discovered in more and more homes across the country. His wife was sick with worry, but he managed to assure her that things would settle down; the mutants would be accepted into society, that was what America stood for, didn't it? The anti-mutant panic of the nation seemed to get closer and closer, wild accusations being thrown at random people like hand grenades in war...the only difference was that the accusations did much worse than kill whoever caught one. Then, somehow, Erik and his family became a prime suspect. A few broken windows at his law office, a letter in the mailbox...he was worried, but refused to let the small threats scare him into hiding. He hated himself everyday now for his stubbornness. Then one night, an angry mob, complete with weapons, was at his front door. He stood up to them, trying to make them leave. He had told his wife to protect their girl in the house, but she came out onto the porch, she wanted to help her husband. One of those lunatics had a gun. She fell, crimson blood flowing from a small hole in her chest, right above her heart. Her dead eyes stared into nothing. His rage and sorrow was instantly replaced with fear and panic once he saw their daughter, standing in the doorway of their house, staring down at her mother's corpse. Her skin was sickly paled, her eye were empty. She had seen it all, and he made the decision right then to reveal his ultimate secret to the people who had once been his friends and neighbors. Before he started, he ordered his daughter to stay inside, no matter what happened. Time seemed to slow down for Erik, as he heard another shot go off from the crowd. He held out his hand, and reversed the direction of the bullet. It caught the assassin between the eyes. While the rest of the mob fled, Erik's powers were unleashed after being contained for years. His eyes were icy with an intense desire for destruction and revenge. He glanced up and down the street, everything he saw could be used as a weapon. The cars, and mailboxes, the flag poles, and street lamps, all of it! He raged at them, attacking everyone who was in the mob, and many who weren't. He had completely destroyed three blocks until someone was able to stop him. For all of his power over metal, he was helpless against the force of a Louisville Slugger (completely wooden baseball bat) to the back of his head. He had no idea who it was that did it, but when he awoke, his daughter was gone. He assumed that she was dead, just like her mother. Only a few years ago did he find a tiny scrap of evidence that she might have been alive, and he swore that he would find her. He hadn't stopped fighting since that horrible day, the day when a large part of Erik had died, and Magneto was born.'   
  
A tear slipped down his gaunt face, and landed on the page he held in his hands, blurring the ink. They had taken her, used her as a lab rat for mutant experimentation. Like Wolverine. It was possible that William Stryker had done something to her...Magneto felt very much alone at that moment. He read farther down the page, 'Mutant #583, after numerous escapes, has finally been contained. She is being held in naval base off the coast of North Carolina, Fort Hoover.' Magneto blinked several times, and then read the last sentence again. And again, and again. 'They didn't kill her, she's still alive!' he thought frantically. He clutched the page tightly and bolted out of his room. "Mystique!" he called. She emerged from her own bedroom, across the hall from his. Her face was blank, awaiting direction. "She...she's alive," Mystique's eyes grew wide, and she attempted to speak, but could not, for her shock. "She's being held in Fort Hoover, and that's where we're going. Now." Magneto shifted his attention, "Pyro!" The young man opened the door to his room down the hall and looked at the pair with sleepy eyes.   
  
"What?" he asked, a little annoyed.   
  
"Prep the helicopter, we're going to North Carolina." Pyro rolled his eyes and was about to object when Mystique put her hand on his shoulder, "Not about this, Pyro. Just do what he says."   
  
Once again, the helicopter took to the air, and heading South along the coast. Magneto had said very little, save for a few prayers to himself that his daughter be alive and well. Mystique could understand, she too had had a child. But that was a long time ago. She turned around and took a good, long look at Erik. His hair, while now mostly a steel gray, was still thick and he simply combed it back off of his regal bearing; his eyes were true reflections of his feelings. Dark blue when he felt upset or emotional, icy when angry or threatened, and on occasion, they could be soft and tender, but those occasions were too few and far between. He was pale, and he had a lean build, yet she knew that even without his mutant powers he was still a dangerous opponent. He was getting old, nearly sixty, but his life was a far cry from over. Mystique turned back around in her seat, keeping her eyes on the coast as Pyro flew faster towards their intended destination.   
  
Professor X gasped, snapping out of his sleep and sitting up straight in bed. He had been dreaming, or he thought it was a dream, but...no. No, it was real, the things he had been experiencing. He thought back to what he felt and saw. A man, trying to stop the violence of an anti-mutant mob, he wife shot down, he reveals his powers for revenge...Magneto. Charles closed his eyes. 'I was seeing Erik's past' he thought. Despite how well he knew Erik, and of all the times they had come to blows, Charles had never known why it was that Erik had suddenly turned so violent against humans. Charles tried to remember some more. 'Carnage all around as metal flew through the air, slamming into houses and stabbing through the people from the mob that had killed his wife, then...darkness...and when Erik woke up his daughter was gone'. Charles rubbed his eyes. 'So that's how it happened.' He thought to himself. Then, in a flash, he saw more. Magneto, Mystique and Pyro in a helicopter, heading towards...but they don't know it yet...it's not... "Oh my God!" Charles gasped. 'Erik is too blind to see that he's heading into a trap!' Charles grabbed for his wheelchair and hoisted himself into it. He guided it to the door and wheeled to his control room. He tapped a few buttons, alerting the X-men to be in a state of emergency and to assemble in the control room as quickly as they could. In a matter of minutes, what remained of the X-men were before him. Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Rouge and Iceman. He didn't show his inner disappointment at Jean and John's absences, it wouldn't do anything useful to dwell on what had happened to them.   
  
"What has happened, Charles?" Storm asked, her eyes wide and anxious with confusion. He turned his chair to face the whole group.   
  
"It's Er-, I mean Magneto. Something has come up, and he's heading to Fort Hoover in North Carolina. Straight into a trap."   
  
Wolverine rolled his eyes, "So what? It's not our job to help him, and if I remember correctly, the last time we did, he tried to kill every human on this planet!" Charles remembered that as well. Magneto and Mystique had tricked the illusionist into forcing Charles to nearly killing every human on Earth. Charles had hated Magneto for that, but now he understood why it was that Erik felt he was so completely justified.   
  
"Yes, but be that as it may, he's not thinking straight, and liable to kill anyone who gets in his way. But he may be killed before he has a chance to get what he's been searching for."   
  
Bobby darkly muttered, "Magneto deserves to die." He had been thinking of what Magneto had attempted to do, turn everyone in New York into a mutant...and willing to kill Rouge to do so.   
  
Charles whipped his gaze to Bobby, their eyes locking. "But does John?" his words echoed throughout the cavernous room.   
  
Rouge, who was sensitive to the subject of Magneto, had been silent until the mention of their former classmate and then spoke up, "John's with him? Why, I mean, what are they doing?"   
  
Charles sighed, how much should he tell them? He and Erik had a spotted past, it was true, but he truly did want to help his friend. "Magneto believes that he is on his way to rescue his daughter from a mutant research base, but what he doesn't realize is the danger that he is leading John, Mystique and himself into. He's already about half way there, but if we hurry we might be able t-."   
  
Wolverine had ignored everything Charles had said after the word 'daughter'.   
  
"Wait a minute, did you say "daughter"? Magneto's got a kid?"   
  
Xavier sighed, "Yes."   
  
Wolverine threw up his hands in disbelief, "You've gotta be kidding me! Lemme guess, she can make your brain explode or something, right?"   
  
The professor ignored Logan. "Magneto wasn't born with his deadly hatred of humans. You see, years after Erik moved to America, he met a woman and got married, they also had a daughter a few years later. Someone accused him of being a mutant, and his home was attacked by an anti-mutant mob. Then, the worst part-..."   
  
Rouge cut the professor off. "His wife was shot dead, right in front of him. Then he used his powers against the people in the mob...and when someone knocked him out, his daughter was gone." Everyone looked to Rouge with surprise.   
  
"Rouge, how did you know that?" Bobby asked softly.   
  
Rouge looked down. "I know everything about him. I could tell you what his older sister's name was, where the girl lived that gave him his first kiss...I could tell you the name of the SS guard who gave him his identification tattoo in Auschwitz, and what he did to that guard once he was able to fully control his abilities. When I absorb other people's powers, I get their memories too. When Magneto forced me to absorb him to run that machine... I got Erik." Rouge was visibly upset now, and Bobby moved to comfort her. As he carefully wrapped his arms around her, she thought back to the night when he had taken her prisoner to run his machine. 'Rouge was afraid of Magneto. He was the man who had rendered Logan-the strongest man she had ever met-completely helpless with just a thought. He could've passed for a kind older man, if not for the revealing evidence on his face of all of his past life's struggles. He was so powerful, so intelligent. And so willing to let Rouge die for his cause. She had looked up at him from where she was crouched, chained on the floor and found that he had been looking down on her with an expression of deep, sorrow filled regret and pity. It was clear that he never really wanted to hurt her, but he felt that he had no choice. Then, he spoke to her, and what he said had stuck with her. "I had a daughter who would be about your age...if she hadn't been murdered by some lunatic anti-mutant protesters." He had then turned away from her to check on the controls, leaving her to think about the reasons why he was doing this.' Rouge's mind drifted back to the present. Charles nodded, understanding. "Yes, then you know what lengths he'll go to in order to find that girl. Which means that we have to hurry."  
  
"Magneto, there it is." Pyro pointed out across the water, towards a tiny island only a mile from the North Carolina coast. The island was small, with thick forest surrounding the military base in the center. Magneto stared intently at it. Somewhere in that little base, they were 'containing' his daughter. He'd be damned if they stopped him now that he was this close. His heart swelled with emotion as he turned to Mystique. "You take over, while Pyro and I remove any obstacles that would prevent a safe landing." Mystique nodded with a sly smile. She lowered the helicopter to the point where Pyro could jump out and land safely, while Magneto could fly. With even the tiniest of flames, Pyro had an army at his fingertips. Plus, he spent a great deal of time practicing his power, with Magneto as his teacher and now his attacks were far stronger and much more accurate. In an instant, he had dual fireballs hovering over his open palms, aimed at the soldiers who were advancing on him. Without any movement from Pyro, the fireballs shot out, destroying an army hummer, and wounding several soldiers. Magneto was several feet above him, pulling pins from the soldiers' grenades, simultaneously removing threats and providing Pyro with more fire. When Mystique landed the helicopter, the small landing base was a disaster area. The few soldiers that were left alive were in no shape to fight, and didn't bother to stop the trio from entering the building. Magneto forced every door off of it's hinges, he was as single minded as a shark. They had found nothing on the first few floors of the base, so Pyro got the idea that Ruby might be being held in the very bottom. "If she's so important that they built this whole base just for her, they wouldn't just keep her on the top, they'd guard her at the bottom, especially since she's escaped them before." By focusing all of his "firepower" on one spot, Pyro was able to melt the floor straight down. On the bottom floor, the emergency alarm sounded.   
  
Richard Nelson, the laboratory director, lonely and a little bit crazed, checked the video surveillance system. "Oh no, no, no!" he shouted in frustration. There he was on the screen, and soon to be in person. Magneto. This was exactly what the general wanted, but not him! Magneto would rip this place apart, and take Ruby away from him, that couldn't happen! He looked into the holding place they had built for her. Her long dark hair was flowing freely, and her eyes were closed. They were always closed. Richard placed his palm against the glass, and sank to his knees, sobbing. It wouldn't be long now. He could hear the soldiers shouting at each other, the breaking of glass, shots being fired...but no shouts of victory, nothing to indicate that they could defeat Magneto. The sounds of struggling died off quickly, like the soldiers themselves.   
  
Magneto opened the doors, and stormed inside. What he saw nearly made him sick. The room was small, only a little larger than his plastic prison cell had been. In the center, away from the large computer consuls, was a cylindrical tank. Unlike the tanks in aquariums, however, this large tank held a young woman inside rather than manta rays and clown fish. Magneto's sharp eyes took in the image carefully. The young woman had long, dark brown hair...just like her mother...an angular face...he imagined that if her eyes were open they would have been the same bright blue he remembered from her childhood. He hadn't seen her since that horrible day, nearly five years ago, but he knew his own progeny when he saw it. Her arms had tubes connected to them, pumping her full of who-knew-what and an oxygen mask was strapped across her face. He looked down to see a lab worker, kneeling before the tank, as if praying to the girl behind the glass would save him. Mystique saw him too. He was a little over thirty, thinning light brown hair, glasses, a medium build. His cheeks were shining with tears and he looked up at Mystique like he knew what was coming. She glanced at Magneto, he was completely transfixed with the girl in the tank, Mystique doubted that he had even noticed the crying scientist. She looked back to Richard. Surprisingly, he spoke to her with a tone of frustration. "Why are you doing this? We were so close, and she should stay here, with me! Can't you see that being here is the best thing for her? I won't let you take her from me!!!" He screamed as he drew a gun on the trio. Pyro whipped out his lighter, ready to roast this pig alive, but Magneto held him back. "No, you may hurt Ruby!" Magneto wouldn't warn him again. Pyro's power was extremely effective and useful, but his was an 'outdoor' power, if he used it against the mad scientist, he would more than likely do serious damage to everyone in the room. He pocketed the lighter, but his eyes never left Richard Nelson.   
  
Magneto blinked as the main power was cut from the room, most likely because of Pyro melting the floors and ceilings, which were full of electrical wiring. They stood in the dim illumination of only the emergency lights. No one moved, and Pyro found himself wondering why it was that Magneto hadn't already wasted this guy yet. He glanced at him, and saw that he had a despairing look on his face. Pyro looked again to the scientist. Damn, his gun was made of a nearly indestructible plastic, much like Magneto's former prison cell. They were helpless! There wasn't anything metal in the room, and even if there was, Pyro knew that Magneto wouldn't risk it. The space was too confined, if the scientist saw anything suspicious, he would fire.  
  
No one noticed how the shut down of the main power grid had effected the girl in the tank. Without power, the machines that fed her constant tranquilizers went offline. Without the constant dosage of isolated anesthetics, her mutant DNA enabled her to become alert despite the drugs that were already in her system. After a few muddled minutes, Ruby began to awaken. Neither Magneto, Pyro, Richard Nelson nor the always aware Mystique realized what was happening under the water. Because of the dim lighting of the room, the tank appeared opaque. No one in the room could see her inside, quickly removing the tubes from her arms, taking advantage of the distraction in an attempt to escape. She had been using her sense of touch alone, and the she became curious about her surroundings. She called on her powers of extra sensory perception. With her mind's eye, she could sense what was happening outside of her tank. She could sense Richard Nelson, the scientist who seemed uncomfortably interested in mutant #583. From time to time, she had been able to sense him in the lab. Working hard, working fast, but for all of the wrong reasons. He had bought into the anti-mutant movement that had claimed her mother as one of its first innocent bystanders. She hated him, and allowed herself a few minutes to let her powers catch up to her racing mind.   
  
Magneto was raging inside. He was a mere ten feet away from the daughter he had searched for years on end, and not a damn thing he could do about it. Not for the first time, he wished that he had been given Xavier's power of telepathy so that he could convince Mr. Nelson that the gun could be pointed somewhere else...like in his own mouth, for example. Magneto had been a victim only three times in his life. During the suffering he had endured in prison he had been as stoic as a Spartan, making it clear to his guards that they could break his skin, but never his spirit. The humans had robbed him of his wife and child, and killed a large part of him, yet he lived on to exact his revenge. Then, in Auschwitz, he had been shown what evil in its purest form looked like. As a child, he had been unable to save himself from the horrors that the Nazis had took pleasure in inflicting upon him; but now, as a man, he could end the suffering of his daughter. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, kill this idiot Richard Nelson and bring her home. But there wasn't a damn thing he could do in the world. There was no metal in the room, he had no weapons except his own body. Even if he could fight off Nelson, Mystique and Pyro were still in danger of getting shot. The bullets were as plastic as the gun, but fired hard enough and they could do just as much damage. It was an impossible situation, and he realized it with the finality of a death sentence. He had failed again.   
  
Ruby felt her senses come alive. When she turned again to look at Richard, she could see what he was doing, threatening three people with a gun. She couldn't make out the other people clearly enough, they were too far away from her tank. But from what she could make out, they weren't military, which made them no threat to her.   
  
Richard Nelson had gone off the deep end. After months being held here in the bottom levels of the base, he had finally cracked. He hated mutants with everything he had in him, yet he believed that he loved the one in the tank, despite her not having ever said a word to him, or even been aware of his presence. He regarded her as his last desperate link to the outside world, the world of hope and beauty that would soon be here...after he solved the "mutant problem". Well, a great deal of people had died today, trying to do just that. He refused to be one of them. He aimed the gun straight at Magneto's heart.   
  
Mystique's chrome yellow eyes expanded in suspense. Would this be how it all ended for her and Erik? After the battles with the X-men, the military, his stay in a concentration camp, her being hunted across the globe...they had survived it all. But the idea that their deaths would come at the hands of this...pathetic excuse for a man...it just seemed a little unfair. She turned her gaze to Pyro. He had his lighter out, ready to create an inferno the second Nelson pulled the trigger. Mystique couldn't help but smile to herself, he really was a loyal boy. She faced Nelson, ready to say something noble, or vulgar, as her last words when she noticed some movement in the water. A tiny ripple. She looked to Magneto, he had noticed it too. He hadn't taken his hard eyes away from the tank, and Mystique saw a tiny smile from him that could have only been described as a touch of fatherly pride. Two slim, feminine hands reached out over the wall of the tank. Nelson hadn't noticed, his back was facing the tank and he was too busy gloating at the fact that it would only take one man to kill three of the most dangerous mutants in the world. The hands sought him out, and wrapped around his head. He cried out in shock, but the yell was cut short by the trademark snapping noise that went along with breaking a neck. Once Nelson had dropped to the floor, the mutant in the tank emerged fully. Standing about 5'6'', she was very pale, most likely from being kept underground for so long. Her hair was long, thick and so dark brown that it could be considered as light black. Finally, she opened her eyes. Magneto had been correct in his hopeful assumption, they were the same shade of bright azure that he remembered from when she was younger. Only instead of childhood innocence, they possessed a hard, dangerous edge...like father like daughter. He wondered if she recognized him as her father from forever ago.  
  
Ruby looked at the people who stood about with her in the lab. A woman-like creature with dark blue skin, short red hair and chrome yellow eyes was at her left. A handsome young man with shaggy brown hair, dark eyes and a lighter in his hand, of all things, was at her right. However, she felt a sort of delayed recognition to the man directly in front of her. Standing nearly six feet tall, with a leanly muscular build, was a man who brought out a deep sense of familiarity. She tried to place him, and studied his face. His features were angular, with a sort of noble, leonine dignity. His hair was a dark gray, which made him seem more imposing of a figure. Then she locked eyes with him. The same shade of blue reflected back into her own. They shared the same hard edge to their gaze, proof to their mutual struggles in life. Magneto saw it in her tightened expression that she had placed him as her father. He spoke her name. "Ruby."   
  
The one word, the two syllables rang in her ears. Her mind raced; placing the deep, cultured voice that reflected a first rate education at the very beginnings of her memory. The voice that had read her stories, the voice that had made her feel safe, the voice that had ordered her to stay in the house so she'd be safe the day of the attack. Father. She wanted to say something, but she was too upset. Her throat had tightened and her heart was beating rapidly. Erik felt the same way, and could only pull her into a tight hug. Ruby returned it. They were both sobbing in relief and happiness, and Erik remembered how it felt when he was freed from his concentration camp: liberated, exhausted, but truly happy for the first time in years. Mystique watched the heart warming exchange between them, but something else caught her attention. Pyro noticed it too, it was the sound of approaching air craft. John looked at Mystique, gesturing that they should probably get going. She nodded as he went ahead to reach the helicopter. "Sorry, but we have to go. It appears that someone has called for reinforcements!" Mystique called to them. Magneto and Ruby snapped out of their shared reveries and followed her out.   
  
When the three of them arrived outside to the launch pad, the X-jet was already waiting for them, and military air craft was fast approaching from the distance. Wolverine, Storm and Cyclops were on the ground, in full battle attire, standing between Magneto's group and their helicopter. Magneto knew that Charles and a few of his other students were aboard the jet, watching what would happen below. It didn't matter, they weren't going to harm him or Ruby, of that he was sure. Magneto hardly broke his confident stride toward the helicopter, despite three powerful X-men blocking his way. "Evening children." He greeted amiably, as if they were his niece and nephews. Cyclops remained in his place, not allowing Magneto to get past. "Can I help you, Scott? I really would love to, but I'm a little pressed for time." Scott Summers dropped his strong but silent act, and finally made a move. He reached to his visor, and released a charge at full power, straight at him, and Magneto was powerless to stop it! He attempted to move out of the way, but Ruby could see that he wouldn't make it. She aimed her arm at Scott, and a bright red bolt of energy launched from her open palm, instantly neutralizing his optic blasts, and knocking him onto the flat of his back, several yards away. Ruby looked at her hands, and a few memories began to resurface. She looked up at the remaining X-men and smiled in dangerous amusement, so much like her father.   
  
Before Storm could build up enough force to create lightening, Ruby had rendered her unconscious as well. Magneto could deal with Wolverine by himself, and kept the man immobile. In passing, Magneto whispered a message to Wolverine, "Tell Charles that I'll rip the anyone apart who comes after her. Cheerio, old boy." Wolverine rolled his eyes, up to the sky, where military helicopters were preparing to land. Magneto saw them too. "Well, it looks as though I'll be held to my word." Using his incredible strength, Magneto lifted the large choppers into the air, and dropped them into the ocean. Then, with a simple wave to the X-men, he, Mystique, John and the young woman who could only be his daughter boarded their own helicopter, and flew off.   
  
The helicopter left what remained of the base and the X-men. Pyro couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He knew that Rouge, Iceman and the Professor were watching him from the X-jet, surveying the damage that he had done to the soldiers, and that he had sided with Magneto. They knew now that he had chosen to be on Magneto's side of this war, he went voluntarily. He wished that it could've been easier, separating from the friends that would soon become real enemies, but life was never very fair. He piloted the chopper back up north, back to the home base. He clicked a glance to Magneto and his daughter, who were in deep discussion about what had happened to them during their years of separation. From what he could make out, Ruby had been taken from the house while Magneto was on his rampage against the anti-mutant mob. The whole thing was staged, even her mother's death, by the government. From there, she was taken to many different mutant research facilities, they were very interested in her abilities. Those abilities being, of course, the manipulation of energy. Much like her father, she could create magnetic fields around herself to achieve flight, but she could also attack enemies like Cyclops with energy blasts from her palms. In addition to all of these lovely powers, she had extra sensory perception, and thanks to her military trainers, she was physically stronger than most young women her age. Pyro already liked her, just from seeing her knock Storm and Cyclops flat on their asses. She would be a welcome addition to the family.  
  
After two more hours of flying, the group once again arrived back at the large house in the Hamptons. Ruby was totally exhausted, but this had been the day that she had dreamed of for years, she had finally broken free of the lab, and had her father back! She was euphorically happy, nothing was going to break them up ever again; and Magneto wanted to be certain. He had been checking the air waves, making sure that they had not been followed. He had searched so long for her and he'd be damned if they took her back now. Once he was completely satisfied, Magneto the notoriously diabolical mutant freedom fighter subsided and he became Erik the man. He looked in on his child, who was now a woman, sleeping soundly in Mystique's borrowed bed. He smiled, it was only right that she have a good rest in a safe place. After everything they had been through, they both deserved the relief that only the safety of family could bring. He agreed with himself, and on that note, he went up to his own room.   
  
Mystique was up there waiting for him. A knowing grin, and a deep inclining nod told her that he approved of what she had in mind for them tonight. They had performed this ritual before, usually during times of high stress or deep relief. He wasn't surprised that she had come to him tonight. To an outsider it would have seemed bizarre, even perverse, that a woman who had Mystique's outward appearance would share a bed with a man of Erik's notable age difference. But the bond that they shared was beyond such suburban trivialities. They slept together on occasion, yes, it was true; but the most affectionate of contact they had ever shared outside of the bedroom was a secret smile or touch. No one, not even Pyro knew of their relationship, to display attachment was to show weakness and they couldn't afford that. There were other intimacies, however, that went on within the walls of his bedroom, it wasn't always about sex. They got under the covers and faced each other. Staring into the other's gaze allowed them to remember their adventures together. Erik reflected back on when she had freed him of the plastic prison, she had obviously gone to some trouble to help him. 'Once Mitch Laurio had stepped over the threshold of his cell, he instantly awoke with a jolt of awareness that he hadn't felt since his capture. Being deprived of metal for months had only made him grow hungry for it. He instantly recognized its presence. He was confused for a moment, 'Where is the metal I'm sensing? It must be...on the guard, or...*in* him!'. The realization couldn't help but make him smile. Then, like many of his smiles do, it belied the aggression and power that was always just under the surface. He attacked Laurio, extracting not only the excess iron of his injection, but every bit of iron in his blood that was there originally. Then, as he was killing the guards throughout the compound, he let his mind wander and began to piece together how it came to be that Mitchell Laurio had so much excess iron in his body while obviously not being aware of it. Ah, it had to be Mystique. He thought very fondly of her, and remarked to the fallen guard, "Never trust a beautiful woman." He knew that Mystique had probably transformed into any one of the Playboy centerfolds or Sports Illustrated beauties in order to trick him, but when Erik said 'beautiful woman' he meant Mystique in her own natural form, which he thought to be as beautiful as it was deadly. He had found her inside the compound, casually waiting for him to make his escape. He was eternally grateful to her for whatever sacrifice she had to make for him.   
  
She in turn remembered their very first meeting. Her powers were out of control, they had manifested themselves when she was in school, and she couldn't keep her indigo skin from showing. She had been thrown out of the house, and attacked by the other kids in her neighborhood. She was lost, confused and on her own. Until one day, while she was hiding under a dock in the fishing district of New York, a man approached her. He helped her to concentrate, to practice and hone her skills until she became a Master of Morphing, much like he had trained himself to be the Master of Magnetism.   
  
She held his gaze until she drifted into sleep, like so many times before. Some time later, she rolled over in her sleep, unconsciously giving her companion an unobstructed view of her back. It was a beautiful arrangement of her scales, which fell into flowing patterns that ran from the tops of her shoulder blades, down to the base of her spine. He couldn't help but to gently trace the swirling ridges with his fingertips. She was a wonderful woman, his longest and most loyal companion. They loved each other with the kind of affection that can only be forged between people who would risk their lives for each other. Finally, Erik himself began to feel the strong pull of sleep, and gave in, allowing himself to fall into a dream world, where the struggles that he knew would erupt in days were in a far distant future.   
  
A small television monitor reported the damage done to the Fort Hoover Research Facility as "devastating", "complete" and "otherworldly". The man watching the show chuckled to himself. Those adjectives easily described the people who created that damage. He stopped the television report by putting in a tape from the base that had fed the information to him before the interior damage was done. He watched as Erik Lehnsherr, better known as Magneto, removed titanium steel doors from their hinges with barely a gesture. He watched as Mystique impersonated a guard to distract the other soldiers and then attack them from behind. He watched as this new mutant, one who could control fire, melted the interior of the base, three floors down. From his satellite above the base, he also watched as Ruby blasted a few of the X-men who created obstacles to their escape. This was good, it was now obvious that she really was his daughter. Which meant that Magneto finally had a weak spot, one that could be easily exploited. The man smiled, he would bury Magneto for what he had done to his older brother, William, at Alkali Lake. Robert Stryker smiled...soon the world would have four less mutants to worry about.   
  
It had been a little over a week since the rescue of Ruby had occurred. Erik felt nearly lighthearted at having his family back with him, but on the very edge of his consciousness he worried about the day when the military would track her down and try to take her back. He would never let that happened again, of course, but it still worried him, as it was right now. He had allowed Pyro to show her around the city, under the condition that Mystique go with them should they run into any trouble. He took the time alone to reflect back on his life. He had done things that he wasn't proud of, but they were necessary to keep the past horrendous mistakes of mankind in the past.   
  
Ruby had been given her father's credit card, and was given free reign over a shopping spree. She had offered to buy Mystique and Pyro whatever they wanted, but Mystique had politely declined. Seeing as how she could simply create clothes from her metamorphing flesh, there was really no need to buy her any attire. Pyro, however, knew how to take advantage of a good opportunity, that was how he managed to join with Magneto, wasn't it? He had chosen a few choice items, a dark leather jacket being one of them, to add to his wardrobe. Ruby herself had no wardrobe to add to, which is why Mystique had suggested that they go shopping to Magneto. He had been a little uneasy about them leaving the safety of the house, but Mystique could be very persuasive with Erik.   
  
Ruby had accumulated quite a few items, and Mystique couldn't help but notice some similarities between her and her father's style choices. Mostly dark colors, in fine materials. A little on the pricy side, but Erik was a very wealthy man, and this was his daughter. Money was no object here, the sky was the limit. As an eighteen year old girl, it was a blessing from Heaven itself. So excited was she about shopping at the mall, she never noticed the men tailing them.   
  
Pyro was walking alongside of her, when suddenly, he collapsed! "John?" Mystique asked. It appeared as if he had just fainted dead away, but when she rolled him onto his side, she saw a tiny tranquilizer dart in his neck. He looked into Mystique's eyes and muttered, "Run..." before he fell completely under the drug. There was nothing she could've done for him, so Mystique let her training take over. She grabbed Ruby by her forearm and hustled her into the nearest store. She shoved Ruby into a dressing room and pulled out her cell phone. She quickly dialed the house's number while changing her appearance, hoping she'd have enough time before they were found. She had just finished transforming into a bulky, intimidating young man when someone barged into the tiny dressing room.   
  
Erik answered the phone while he had been lounging on the patio, enjoying the view of the ocean. "Mystique?" he answered. The line was silent for a moment, then he heard the sounds of a struggle, and of Ruby's scream being cut short. He dropped the phone. For nearly a full minute, he just stood there on the deck. His body was rigid, yet he felt as if he would faint. 'No, no, no.' he thought. He shut his eyes before bolting back into the house. Whoever it was that was threatening what was left of his family, he would make them pay.   
  
Once Pyro awoke, he realized he was on a metal table, staring straight into Magneto's raging gaze. "Yaaahhh!" he started. Magneto backed away, and instantly asked, "What happened, John? Where are they?" Pyro shook his head, "I don't know, I think they got me with a dart or something. I'm not sure who it was." Magneto took a seat close to the bed. "So you were neutralized with a dart, Mystique and Ruby are gone without a trace, and we have no clue about who took them?" Pyro became nervous when he heard the edge of desperation enter into Magneto's voice. He moved to put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Magneto, look, I'm sure we can get them back. All we have to do is get Professor X to use the Cerebro to find them." Erik looked up at Pyro. Certainly the boy had no idea of the intricate details of Charles and his difficult past; but he must have been aware by now that they could no longer resolve their conflicts. Charles was content to simply roll over and let the humans have their anti-mutant rallies and deface the entire mutant race. He ordered his students to hide their powers at all costs from the public. Meanwhile, Magneto could see that history was on the verge of repeating itself, the Holocaust simply a taste of what was in store for mutants. Erik would die a thousand deaths before he let it happen, which is why he fought so hard every chance he got. Charles and he were friends, at least when one wasn't trying to harm the other, but could he really go to Charles with this type of a request? Even more interesting, would Charles help him, despite everything he's done? Or would he just tell Storm to suck them into a hurricane? He sighed, what else could he do? 'Charles, please, you are my only hope.'   
  
Charles Xavier had been in the front area of the mansion when he heard the mental plea of Erik, who sounded way beyond desperate. 'You are my only hope' are words that he certainly never expected to hear from his most dangerous enemy and dearest friend. After attempting to kill Rouge, almost tricking him into killing all the humans of the world...and now he was heading here to ask for help? Typical. He didn't like the idea of Magneto being reunited with Mystique, those two put together were simply diabolical. But Ruby...she was just a victim of circumstance in all this. It was not her fault that Erik was so vengeful towards humans. It wasn't her fault that the American government was so dangerously curious about mutants. It was her fault, however, that Charles was willing to reunite father and child. No matter what had happened between Charles and Erik in the past, he would help his friend in the present.   
  
Erik and John went up to the large double doors of the mansion. Erik was pacing and agitated, obviously anxious for the whole ordeal to be over and done with. All he wanted was for his daughter to be safe at home, for his lover to be unharmed, for his family to be secure in the knowledge that they could walk up the block without being attacked because of their differences. Was it really so much to ask for? "Certainly not Erik, but you're going about this all wrong." Magneto had been so wrapped up in his panicked thoughts that he hadn't noticed the door opening or Xavier's appearance. His shoulders slouched in the realization of his foolishness, but only for a moment. In a split second, he was back to his usual, arrogant self. "Hello Charles, we were just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by." Charles reversed the direction of his wheelchair, allowing room for Erik and John to enter. "No more games, Erik. We both know why you're here. I could hear your plea from miles away." Erik said nothing, only looking at the floor. "I'll help you Erik, there shouldn't have been any doubt in your mind if I would." Erik looked back at Charles with an expression of such shock and gratitude that it looked completely alien on his face. Charles advanced toward the area where he kept Cerebro. Erik and Pyro began to follow, when they all heard a lilting, very Southern accent call out from behind them, "John?" Erik and Pyro turned to see Rouge coming toward them. Her large brown eyes were wide and emotional as she advanced towards him. Pyro gave Erik a look that told him the he knew where his true place was. Erik gave him a small smile, but continued to follow Charles, leaving Pyro to explain everything to the girl.  
  
"Where have you been John?" she began.  
  
"I joined with Magneto after I left the X-jet at Alkali Lake, Rouge. And it's Pyro now, I go by Pyro." He asserted.  
  
"But Jo-I mean, Pyro, why? We were your friends, why are you suddenly against us now?" her eyes were pleading with him, 'please come back John, everything will be ok if you're here.'  
  
He decidedly ignored her. "Rouge, you still are a friend of mine, but I don't fit in here, I never have. And you know it, the teachers here know it, even the Professor knows it. That's why I left. It's not because I suddenly decided that I wanted to be an enemy instead of a friend, Magneto and Mystique just accept me for who I am."   
  
Rouge was confused beyond belief. "John what are you talking about?! They only want to use you because of your power!"  
  
He was beginning to get angry now. "No, Rouge, you aren't listening! They accept me for who I am, not for what I am. The only reason I got accepted into this damn school was because of my powers, and the only thing they ever taught me was to be afraid and to hide them. But Magneto and Mystique, they understand that I like to do whatever I want, no matter what the consequences are. Rouge, that day in front of Bobby's house, I actually enjoyed blowing up those cop cars, ok?! That's the difference between you and me, Magneto and the Professor. Your side would rather roll over and hide your true selves than face the opposition full force. I'm sorry Rouge. Tell him I'll be in the helicopter when he gets out." He ordered his former friend.   
  
Outside of the Cerebro chamber, Erik was pacing. Charles had been inside for a long time, which gave Erik plenty of time to allow his mind to wander, coming up with the cruelest of scenarios. Charles would just wheel out of the chamber, with a look of genuine sorrow, and say something to the tune of, "I'm sorry Erik, it's too late." He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as if he would have a heart attack. Then, finally, the thick steel doors opened. Erik stopped pacing and fixed Charles with a level gaze that barely masked his anxiety. "Well Charles, what of my family?" The man in the wheelchair looked up to his old friend and saw in his eyes how much he needed Mystique and Ruby. Charles knew that if he simply lied to Magneto and told him that they were both dead, perhaps he would just give up on his quest to overthrow the humans as the dominant race. Either that or renew his hatred with an ungodly amount of passion. But he was the good guy, the one who wanted peace. He had a responsibility to do what was right in every situation he encountered, and to keep a man from the only family he had could never be considered as right. He would tell his friend the truth, if only for the girl's sake. "They're both alive. Being held in the city by Robert Stryker, William Stryker's younger brother, as bait for you, Erik. He blames you for his brother's death and plans to kill all of you. His first step in ridding the world of us." Charles sat back to let the weight of his words sink in. If Erik went for them, he could be killed. If he didn't, they would be killed anyway. Erik understood exactly what was going to happen. He gave Charles his usual grin of confident bemusement. "He can try, Charles." Xavier gave his adversary a small smile in return. "Here are the coordinates, would you like any company?" He asked, offering the help of the X-men. Erik knew the area of where they were being held, and looked back at Charles. "No thank you, old friend, there are some things that I must do alone, and this is one of them." Xavier nodded, understanding completely. "Well then, what's left to say, except good luck?" Erik turned and headed for the real part of the house.  
  
Once he emerged, he found that Pyro was nowhere to be seen. That girl, Rouge, was sitting on the front stairs, visibly upset. Erik approached her slowly. She looked up at him. "He's in the helicopter." Was all she said, but her tone indicated that she knew now that Pyro would never come back to the school. He had left her and Bobby alone on the X-jet, he had gone with Magneto and Mystique, and by doing that he had crossed a line and there was no coming back. Erik understood how she felt. It was the same way that Charles had spoken to him once he realized that he and Erik could not resolve their differences. Once the greatest of friends, soon to be the worst of enemies. But that was the way it had to be. He stared down at her for a moment longer. There was nothing he could say, precious little he could imagine doing, that could make it right. Some scales simply could not be balanced. He put his hand over her clothed shoulder, and looked into her eyes. He knew that she knew all of his secrets, everything he had done and everything he had felt in the past. For a fleeting moment, there were no secrets between them. She saw how his soul had been stripped down to its very essence, and dusted with the airborne hatred that spewed forth from the crematoriums in Auschwitz. He left his childhood behind at age seven, when his mother was ripped away from him. Since then he had molded within himself a hard, steel core. That hard core had then been rolled a thousand times, allowing him to bend, but never to break. Rouge saw it now that he was indestructible, nothing on this Earth would keep him from saving his child and his friend-or was Mystique more than that? He could offer Rouge no apologies for the way life was, only the cold, hard truth spoken tenderly. "This is the way war is Rouge." He knew better than any of them how true that sentiment was. And, once again, he was out of her life.  
  
The helicopter plowed through the clouds towards the Big Apple. Pyro landed on a comparatively small building that was nestled between skyscrapers. They were going to face an enemy that they knew next to nothing about, having no idea what they were walking into. But that didn't matter. Magneto knew that he was a force that should never have been threatened, should always have been respected and most of all, should have been feared. He was extremely powerful, he was highly intelligent, and he was deadly. Having very little regard for human life from the outset, he wouldn't mind if he had no choice but to kill a few people...in fact, he hoped to. If nothing else, they could be considered as a warning to anyone else that thought about trying to get to him through his family.   
  
Pyro felt about the same way. If Magneto and Mystique were supposed to be his surrogate family, then it was like his duty to save them. Mystique had been very sweet and loving, despite her demonic appearance. Ruby, while he had only known her for a few days, was great, so nice, so pretty. If Magneto cared so much for her, then that meant something. She was special, she was a part of the family, she was going to come home with them tonight. John started to follow Erik out of the chopper, but the older man had locked him inside, using his power.   
  
"Hey! Magneto, let me out!" John demanded. He saw Magneto through the window simply shake his head. Erik smiled in his usual amused way at Pyro's obvious frustration. Any other time, he might've stayed and teased him for a bit, but he had very pressing matters to attend to. He turned on his heel, leaving John alone, trapped inside the helicopter.   
  
Given the circumstance that there was enough metal in his surroundings, Magneto had found that he could achieve flight. He walked to the edge of the building and glanced at the city below. New York was a city forged from the strongest materials in the world. Steel and stone, and little else. He looked over his shoulder to John, who was still trying to force the helicopter door open. John caught Erik's look and his muscles relaxed, showing that he wouldn't bother trying to escape any longer, he understood that Magneto wanted to do this alone. He looked back out to the city, and let the magnetic fields engulf him. He was lifted up, left, right, wherever he needed to go, and he directed himself towards the building where Ruby and Mystique were being held.   
  
Snap, crack!- Silence. "Filthy beast, goddamn mutie!" -Snap, crack!- "Aggghhaahh!" The guard -who was in actuality just your run-of-the-mill mutant-hating thug- gave Mystique one final whip with his bike chain-snap, crack!- before abandoning her crumpled form alone in the room. He was a gang leader in his younger years, and nowadays he was a hit slash muscle man. He would kill a man five different ways if the money was right, but when he had heard of a guy looking for men who wanted to kill some mutants, he jumped at the chance. He was so eager, he almost did it for free...almost. Man, with life on the streets, he had seen his share of weirdos, the crackheads, the ravers, his fellow lowlifes. But not in all of his years had he ever seen anything like what was in that room. They had knocked out some guy in a dressing room at the mall, and even while they were watching, the dude became what looked like a woman. But this woman was the most bizarre thing he had ever seen. Scaly blue skin, bright red hair, yellow eyes like a lizard! It had a body in the shape of a woman's. Long legs, narrow waist, breasts...but he couldn't imagine anyone being crazy enough to try and make it with something like that! The thing had woken up and attacked the first person it saw, screaming for the girl's whereabouts. Then, the boss had ordered him and his friends to take turns "calming her down." She was a tough little freak, but with being outnumbered and out muscled, they beat her down pretty quick. He wrapped the bike chain around his fist, making improvised brass knuckles and went into the hallway for a smoke. She'd wake up again soon, eager for another ass-kicking. Movement further down the hallway caught his attention. There was a man walking toward him. Dressed in mostly black, the guy made a small gesture at him. "Hey, who are y-!" and suddenly the thug found that his bike chain, which he had coiled around his knuckles, had tightened so hard that it broke every bone in his hand. Magneto stood over the man, watching as he dropped to his knees in pain. He noticed that the man wasn't crying...yet. He seemed to be a tough guy, probably involved with any sort of crime, organized or not.   
  
He said, "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll tighten that chain so hard that your fingers will simply snap off."  
  
The man glared back at him, and in one fluid motion, advanced on Magneto in an attack. "I warned you." He stated truthfully.   
  
Mystique came out of unconsciousness at the sound of a man's painful scream being cut short. It was like a wrenching alarm clock. The first thing she noticed was how bad her eyes hurt. Then, how bad her head hurt, then her neck, back, arms and legs. Painfully, she tried to remember...oh yes, the guards. It was all coming back to her. She heard the only door to the room open behind her. She wanted to fight, viciously attack whichever thug it was that wanted his turn at the "freak beat". It was like a game to them, all they saw when they looked at her otherworldly features was one big piñata. She heard the person's footsteps approach her, slowly. She waited for the hard blows of feet, the stinging of quick punches, perhaps even the slice of a knife. But it didn't come, she felt a warm hand placed on her shoulder, gently rolling her from her side and onto her back.   
  
Erik had fulfilled his promise of snapping the guard's fingers, and then when the brute began to scream in pain, he removed him from life. He made a mental note to himself that bicycle chains could be very useful. Then, his curiosity had gotten the best of him, he wanted to know what the man was guarding. He forced his way into the small room, and as light was let in, he saw the small puddle of blood around the sapphire form laying on the floor. For a few moments, Erik didn't want to check on her. Truth be told, he was scared to death of what he might find. He saw the tiniest movement from her, she was breathing a little. He cautiously walked up to her, and he couldn't hide the sorrow that her pitiful condition brought forth in him. He kneeled down and saw that her body was dark with bruises. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and rolled her onto her back so that she could face him. He stared at her face. It was like someone had smeared a wet watercolor painting. Mystique's face was a blurred vision of its own reality. He could hardly recognize her. He felt lightheaded from being so afraid that her wounds might have been mortal. Her eyes had opened, but they were as blank as a doll's. She was barely alive, and most likely unaware of anything beyond herself.  
  
Then, an aspect of her eyes changed. A moment before, they were glazed over, unseeing, unmoving. Now they had the opaque depth of a shark's eyes, aware and alert. Magneto watched as she shape shifted into her original human body. Despite being lovers, he had never known what she looked like as her human self. He watched in amazement as her normal indigo skin bleached itself into the more pale shade of ivory cream, her angry red hair vanishing into honeyed blonde, her navy lips becoming a light, girlish rose. He cradled her naked human form in his arms, silently praying that she live through this horrible night.   
  
Then, as quickly as it had come, her once true form disappeared, giving way to her real body. Her eyes opened, revealing for a fleeting moment a light blue iris, before returning to amber. She looked up at Erik, not knowing what to say or do. He was the same. Then, somehow, it occurred to both of them that perhaps there was no need for words. Erik embraced Mystique, gently hugging her. She returned the hug as best she could. He helped her to her feet, she was wobbly, but she was able to walk.  
  
Relieved beyond belief that Mystique was alive, Magneto continued on with his task.  
  
Mystique's jaw hurt too much to talk, but she led Magneto where she believed they were keeping Ruby. He had wrapped one arm around her waist, and took on most of her weight as they made their way down the hallway of the building. She gently nudged him in the side and jutted her chin to their left. He followed her direction to the first door on their left, and looked inside.   
  
Once again, his little gem was being held in a lab. This time, though, she was fully conscious and strapped to a table rather than in an aquarium. He looked closer and saw that her hands were covered by glass spheres. Rose quartz. The same material that could block out Cyclop's optical blasts was used for the same effect on Ruby, leaving her virtually helpless. He saw her posture stiffen a little, and she quickly glanced towards the door. She saw him, but made no move to indicate it. He hoped that she knew he would do everything he could to save her. He gently sat Mystique down on the floor of the hallway. He tenderly gripped her shoulders as he spoke to her. "Mystique, listen to me. I have to leave you now, and protect Ruby. But I'll be back for you, I promise." She gave a weak nod, and he let himself into the room.   
  
"Ah, Magneto. We were wondering when you'd be here to join us." Said a voice. Much like his older brother, he was stocky yet muscular. He had dark blonde hair and light brown eyes, taller than Erik, and younger. Magneto didn't care, for it didn't matter, none of it did. "Well, I'm sorry I was late, I had to stop off and pick up a friend." He replied in his usual tone of indifference. Robert smiled at him, "Oh, yes. Your 'friend', I'm sure she's very friendly. Tell me, Erik, is she as cold as she looks?" Magneto didn't let the comment effect him visibly. "What, you're not surprised that I know of your little get-togethers? I'm sure you thought you could hide forever, but these things just have a way of coming out, wouldn't you agree?" Robert wasn't talking about Mystique anymore, he was regarding the events that revealed him to be a mutant, the attack on his family. Magneto's mouth tightened. "What do you want, Robert?" The other man's eyes grew hard. "What do I want? So many things," he began to count on his fingers, "A new BMW, a supermodel girlfriend...but those are just a tad out of reach. If I had my pick, however, I'd say a solution to the mutant problem would get priority. I want you dead because you killed my brother, I want the rest of them dead because they aren't human. They aren't even living, they are walking disease." Erik had heard these comments before, not only referring to mutants. Robert continued, "Which is why I decided to fight fire with fire, as they say." He held up a vile full of dark green liquid. "I want you to be the first one to see this. As you know, I've been with the national defense for a very long time. We've had to come up with many special weapons, this being one of them. All the better to destroy you mutants. Allow me to introduce you to the Legacy virus!" He cried as he threw it on the ground.   
  
The glass shattered and the instant the liquid came into contact with oxygen, it transformed into a thick cloud. Erik tried to back away, but the haze rose too quickly. He began to cough, as did Ruby. The cloud spread quickly, and even Mystique was effected. She began to cough where she sat in the hallway. After a few seconds of hacking, Magneto found it increasingly difficult to breath. Robert circled Magneto, calmly observing the suffocating man on the floor. His little mutant slut couldn't help him. His daughter couldn't help him. She was fighting for air on the medical table. 'She'll be a very interesting autopsy...' he thought to himself. He looked back to Magneto. "What does it feel like, Erik? To have the knowledge that you have failed again? Do your lungs burn? Is it getting harder to concentrate? This is what you put my brother through. Because of you, I'm putting your entire Brotherhood through the same thing." Magneto ignored Robert and forced himself to concentrate one last time.  
  
Pyro was bored. He checked him watch again. Magneto had been in there for almost half an hour. Was that a good sign? Maybe. Not too long, not too short. But...how would he know when it was too long? He heard a clicking noise and looked over to the door. It had unlocked. He opened it and ran to the edge of the roof. He knew where Magneto had gone. He also knew that Magneto had flown there. Ruby, Mystique and Magneto were definitely in trouble. He had to get there, but how could he do it? There was no time to run down flights of stairs and then run through the streets, he had to get there right now! He pulled out his lighter, and looked at his reflection. He closed his eyes, hoping for help from above. He ignited a flame, and concentrated until his head swam. All he could see or feel was the fire. Magneto had told him that with much more training, perhaps years more, Pyro would be able to do this feat. Pyro could actually become the flame. He was aware that he had done what should have taken years in a few minutes. He still needed to get to his family though. With hardly a thought, he had shape shifted into a flaming eagle! The transformation was so swift, he knew that Mystique would've been proud. 'If she lives to see me do it again', he thought. He took flight, straight for the building Magneto had gone into. Not bothering to open the door, he increased his temperature and melted his way in. The building was thick with a strange dark green smoke, but it didn't bother him. His inferno flames were effectively dissolving the clouds. He changed back into himself and ran through the halls, while the smoke was being cleared.   
  
He spied a form lying in the hallway, in front of a door. Mystique! He ran over to her. "Mystique!, Mystique, wake up, c'mon. You've got to open your eyes!" she looked up at him, but he knew that she was dazed. Then it hit him. It was the smoke, she couldn't get any air! He laid her down on her back, and hoped that he could remember some CPR.   
  
He tilted her head back and lifted her chin. With only a moments hesitation, he put his mouth to hers, and forced his air into her lungs. He released her and looked on in horror as her chest was illuminated from within! Her lungs were glowing from the air he had breathed into her! "Oh my God, no! Mystique, no, I'm so sorry, please don't die!" He screamed. Her eyes opened, and she lunged at him, locking lips with him and literally stealing his breath away. Her chest was glowing again, but she was breathing. "Pyro, your powers, they've..." He nodded, "I know, they came a long way really fast. I guess Magneto was wrong about having to wait years..." But Mystique cut him off. "Oh my God, Erik and Ruby are still in there, Pyro, go now!" He didn't need to be told twice. He bolted into the room. Ruby was strapped to a medical table, Magneto was on the floor. They were both unconscious, and probably close to death. He ran over, and gave his form of CPR to Magneto. Once he awoke, Pyro ran over and gave it to Ruby. He breathed his burning air into her lungs. She woke up, and looked into his eyes. "Pyro, you saved us." She said. Then, she reached up and gave him the hottest kiss he had ever had. Her passion made his flames seem like tiny sparks. He was so lost in the moment, that for a moment, the control was let down on his powers. The flames flew up like geysers, consuming all of the smoke that was still in the building, and the haze that had escaped above into the sky. With that kiss, Pyro had completely wiped out the Legacy virus. Magneto saw what had happened, Pyro and Ruby kissing, and was about to go break up the scene. "Ahem." Mystique called to him from behind. She gave him a knowing look. He turned from the younger people and walked over to her. "Robert Stryker is still alive, barely." Mystique said, gesturing to Stryker's burnt body, which was currently trying to get to the exit door. Magneto sighed, "Yes, I suppose he is."   
  
"Should we go after him?" she asked.  
  
Magneto made a small smile. "Collect the children, I'll take care of him."   
  
She smiled back, and broke up the make-out session, much to the chagrin of Ruby and Pyro.   
  
Magneto stood over Stryker. The other man had rolled over, his upper body out the exit door already, while his legs were too badly burnt to walk and were being dragged behind him. Erik watched him for a second, "It was you that arranged for my wife to be shot, wasn't it?" he asked.  
  
Stryker nodded, "Yeah."  
  
"It was you who stole my daughter."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Finally, Erik asked the one question that had plagued his mind since his horrible beginnings, the one that he screamed in his mind and in his sleep whenever he saw violence against mutants or any other minority. "Why?"  
  
Robert Stryker knew that he wasn't getting out of this alive, so he decided that if Erik was going to kill him, he was going to hear how far the government was willing to go in order to get answers.  
  
"Because we were curious. We heard about you, the boy who tore down a gate in Europe with his mind. We found you only after you got married. Then we learned about your daughter. It was quite an interesting study, how mutation was passed on through the father's genes. The sniper did a great job on your wife, by the way. We were sorry to lose such an excellent marksman. And then there was your daughter. She had no power back then, her powers only started developing once we started our...testing process," Robert continued calmly as he discretely reached for the small plastic gun he kept in the waistband of his pants. "She's really quite an interesting subject, as I suspect that you will be as well!" He brought the gun around and aimed it point blank at Magneto, but he never fired it. He never had a chance. In a blinding flash of red, he was gone, completely incinerated. Magneto turned to see Ruby standing tall and defiant behind him. Pyro and Mystique looked just as amazed as he did. She glared at the spot where the most horrible person on the planet had once been. She looked to her father, "Can we please go home now?"   
  
He couldn't help but smile at her, "Of course."   
  
The flight back home was quiet, not for fear, but of hope. 


End file.
